Priorities for Different-Sized Groups

Thanks to the organizers of EA Oxford and EA MIT for contributing to this page.

Groups will always be time and funding-constrained, so prioritising between activities is critical. A group’s prioritisation strategy depends on several factors: the group’s stage of development; its members’ demographic, needs and preferences; and its organisers’ skill sets.

To begin prioritising, determine your group’s stage of development. We identify three stages below, organised by group size. All priorities from earlier stages apply to later stages.

We recommend that group organisers tailor our general approach to fit your specific circumstances. It is useful to create a document which lists group priorities. You should revisit the list at fixed intervals, such as every six months, or at the end of every semester. These documents can help you to stay on-track, evaluate progress, and adjust your goals.

Small/New

Small groups generally have 1-2 group organisers and <10 regular group members.

Recommended priorities:

• Encourage group members to join EA Virtual Programs.

• Create a healthy community atmosphere that people want to be part of.

• Build relationships between group members, for example through social events.

• Connect with the Centre for Effective Altruism and other organisers via Slack for support.

• Find co-organisers

• If the current organisers are considering leaving, find successors and create a preliminary handover process

• Build an enthusiastic and stable core membership.

Medium-sized

Medium groups generally have 3-5 group organisers and 10-20 regular group members. Without fail-safes and proper infrastructure, many medium-sized groups may contract.

Recommended priorities:

• Complete the small-group tasks listed above

• Connect group members to the broader EA community

• Develop an overarching group strategy with object-level goals to achieve within a given time frame

• Establish infrastructure to maintain the group’s level of activity. Developing formalised group roles may help

• Have a robust handover process in case current organisers may leave

• Increase engagement in all parts of the funnel model of engagement in EA

  • Move people from “audience” to “followers” by reaching out to people who haven’t heard of EA before, for example through introductory presentations

  • Move people from “followers” to “participants” by holding events that help new people become more knowledgeable about EA like reading groups

  • Move people from “participants” to “contributors” by supporting people to conduct projects, volunteer, attend conferences (e.g. EA Global) or make significant commitments like taking the Giving What We Can pledge.

  • Move people from “contributors” to “core” by helping them with their career plans via career one-on-ones or workshops

• Set up a website so people can find you more easily

Large

Large groups have >5 organisers who invest substantial time into the group, possibly including paid part- or full-time organisers. They're generally at least a few years old with an active membership of 50+ members, large enough to support subcommunities with different interest areas or demographics. Dissolution of large groups is improbable.

Recommended priorities:

• Complete the small and medium-group tasks listed above

• Attract new members who might be particularly valuable to the EA community

• Provide resources to support EA projects

• Organise showpiece events with high-profile speakers

• Build excellent brand-presence via your website and perhaps social media